Netflix eases Wall Street worries with record quarter

(Reuters) – Netflix Inc hooked 7 million new streaming subscribers from July to September, a third more than Wall Street had expected, reassuring investors who had worried the company was facing a slowdown in its fast-paced growth. FILE PHOTO: The Netflix logo is pictured on a television in this illustration photograph taken in Encinitas, California, U.S., January 18, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo The record number of additions for the period brought Netflix’s customer base to 137 million worldwide, making it by far the world’s biggest online subscription video service. Its shares, already up about 78 percent so far this year, jumped 14 percent to $394.25 in after-hours trading, helping up some other high-tech stocks. The leap in subscribers – and the company’s shares – marks a sharp turnaround from three months ago, when investors sent Netflix shares tumbling 14 percent for missing Wall Street’s subscriber growth targets. “The question at the end of Q2 was whether that miss was an aberration or signs of a longer-term slowdown in the business,” said Forrester Research analyst Jim Nail. “The answer: an aberration, likely the results of a somewhat low volume of new content last quarter.” Netflix’s results sent shares of Alphabet Inc, Facebook Inc and Amazon.com Inc up about 1 percent higher in extended trade. The four make up the so-called FANG group of high-growth companies that in recent months has lost some of its momentum following market-leading gains in recent years. HIGH CONFIDENCE Netflix is investing more than $8 billion in… [Read full story]